Everyone has experienced the disheartening feeling of receiving an application rejection letter. Or even the absence of any recognition of what feels like the 3 gazillion CVs and applications you have sent.
When it comes to attracting an employer’s attention or getting
them to spend that little longer reading your CV, it is all about standing out.
A recent study using eye tracking technology has highlighted
that an employer will spend as little as 6
seconds reading your CV.
One way to turn those 6 seconds into 16 seconds is work
experience. As more and more people go to university and get degrees, work
experience is becoming a more valuable asset when applying for a job. Employers
see it as an example of your dedication to find employment by taking the time
to gain new skills, whether paid or non-paid. However, most work experience
placements or internships are unpaid.
When I graduated, after spending most of my time at the
university student radio station, I knew that I wanted my career to involve
radio in some way. However I couldn’t afford to go to college or do a postgrad
radio course, so the only other way was to get some work experience.
I had already been pestering my local radio stations for
years about getting work experience, so I decided to take my chances and cut
out the middle man. I e-mailed the Managing Director of Original 106 FM in
Aberdeen and the next thing I know the Station Manager, Neil Weightman, had phoned
and invited me to the station. I spent the next 9 months learning all the
tricks of the trade, how to use industry software and assisting in all tasks
contributing to the daily running of a station. Everyone at the station was
brilliant and made sure I gained the skills I needed to learn and I made lots
of industry contacts.
A Blind in Business candidate, Kevin Satizabal, graduated
from Birmingham University with a degree in music earlier this year. Like most
graduates, he has been struggling to find employment. He is interested in
marketing and decided to apply for a volunteer position at The Royal London Society for Blind People .
“I wanted to build on
my marketing skills and gain practical work experience in order to enhance my
CV. More importantly it shows employers that I am willing to work and more than
capable of doing so, despite being visually impaired. I have also learned lots
about marketing and working for Action Blind has made me want to have a career
in marketing more than ever.”
At Blind in Business, our employment advisors can help you
find work experience and make sure you get the most out of it. Whether it is to
find out if banking is for you, or to add to your CV for a journalism post.
Email Robin Spruell (robin@blindinbusiness.org.uk)
or Justin Harrison (Justin@blindinbusiness.org.uk)
who can help you find a placement, wherever you are in the UK.
Spend a week at your local community radio station, help out
at a youth group, organise events for a charity or an internship at a top
insurance company. Work experience is a great way to increase your chances of
employment and show them that even though you are visually impaired, you are
just as employable as anyone else.
Samantha Little
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